The MAR will be constructed by the Bangalore Development Authority (BDA) at a cost of Rs 585 crore.

A 10-lane toll-free road is being built in Bangalore to ease congestion. The new 10.8 km Major Arterial Road (MAR) will connect the southern and western parts of the city.

According to media reports, the new road will serve as an alternative to the NICE corridor, which is a toll road. It will connect Challaghatta on Mysore Road and Kadabagere Cross on Magadi Road, enhancing connectivity to the Nadaprabhu Kempegowda Layout and reducing travel time from 1.5 hours to 10 minutes.

The MAR will be constructed by the Bangalore Development Authority (BDA) at a cost of Rs 585 crore. Land acquisition for the project is currently underway, and 321.1 acres have already been acquired.

Reports suggest that the project could be completed within the next 2 months. However, there could be delays due to pending forest department approvals and a 300-meter railway underpass, which is still under construction.

Source: HT

There is a diversion after Chennasamudram toll as well in both directions, but its not that bad or a pain.

BHPian ravib recently shared this with other enthusiasts:

Had to do an emergency trip to madras for family bereavement.

Onward Journey

Left C.V.Raman Nagar on Tuesday 4th Feb evening at 7 pm, due to time constraints. I usually prefer to avoid late night drives, but didn't had much choice. Reached Pallavaram at 1.30 am after a total break for 1+ hour. 40 minutes at Murugan Idli Shop for dinner break and then another 15 minutes for tea break at Chennasamudram toll plaza.

I was in dilemma to go via Katpadi/Vellore or take a chance at Bommasamudram crossing, because it was at 11 pm in the night when i was there. Later assumed there may not be traffic at late night, so thought of trying out Bommasamudram railway cross, and was proven i was completely wrong Recollected srvm's post immediately

The volume of truck and bus traffic at 11 pm in both sides is absolutely ridiculous. I wonder why they keep the space that allows big vehicles to enter . Complete stupidity. Infact , from a safety perspective, i would say, don't allow any 4 wheelers at all, though its a detour for us but still safety is more important. Thankfully, the majority of very slow moving traffic was in my direction, so lost about 20 minutes just to cross the section but still its much better. Whereas the opposite side traffic heading to Chittoor was 2x more than vehicles going towards Ranipet. Total utter chaos. As srvm mentioned, don't take this route for another 1 year or more. They just started to construct pillars for flyover bridge after digging the roads in both sides.

My personal opinion - though bridges are good to ease the traffic, especially for volume of traffic between Ranipet to Chittoor, but for the railway traffic, my understanding is, there are not too many trains that block vehicle movement. I could be wrong though.

So that made overall one way travel to 6.5 hours, because i could catch up speed post Chennasamudram toll.

Return Journey

Left today 6th Feb at 6 am , though traffic was less but dense fog was slowing down. On the way, as today is an auspicious day (Thai Krithigai), was in dilemma to whether goto Kundrathur murugan temple or drive via Ratnagiri. But reached Ranipet Amirtha veg restaurant (mandatory stop for yummy food) for breakfast at 8:15 am. After 30 minutes break, a spark thought came to see Valli Malai Murugan temple, which is a small detour, so that

Its indeed an interesting temple for sure and will be loved by trekkers.

After 2 hour stop in the temple, drove back to Bangalore and reached by 2 pm. So that made up about 6 hours of driving.

Now coming the Road conditions and Diversion Tactics , here is more detailed information.

Bangalore to Chittoor to Ranipet

1) As if the existing diversions are not sufficient between Bangalore to Chittoor ( one Before Hoskote toll at Kattamanallur, very long diversion at Narasipura sipcot, Mulbagal, and 2 diversions before and after Nangli town), one new diversion is added between Murugan Idli shop and HIghway star.

2) Chittoor bypass bridge above Collectorate office now allows traffic in both ways. Its a very good tarmac road now and smooth. Makes a lot of difference now for easy drive, compared to what i drove before 2017 in 2L road and now in fully 4L road/6L bridge. Awesome !

3) Need to be very careful in one way traffic with diversion for smaller section near CMC Chittoor campus area.

4) Minor Diversions are there around Chittoor-Thatchoor expressway and BCE expressway. No big deal. Just watchout for the barriacades and any construction items that are protruding in the lanes.

5) We can no longer exit to Katapdi/Vellore by taking right below the bridge which was under construction for years. They closed that option now, so one has to all the way go near Bommasamudram to take right towards Katpadi/Vellore.

6) On a positive side, that bridge is open in opposite direction now so, vehicles coming from Katpadi/Vellore or even Bommasamudram can easily take the flyover bridge. No lane markings though at this time.

7) The hot topic Bommasamudram roads are pathetic and i was able to manage because of SUV, but low GC sedans will really face the hit badly. Recommended to avoid it even if it is a quick pass through. No extra marks for comparing the road conditions with Bangalore potholes, as there is no clear winner.
8) The diversion after Ranipet Collector office to go towards Hospital/Church/Bridge towards Little flower convent is still there. However, it eased up a lot now. Only bridge work is pending , so the traffic below the bridge is smooth now.

Chennasamduram Toll plaza to Kanchipuram to Sunguvarchatram - Sriperumbudur

First things first - there are NO potholes in the entire stretch or the ones that are currently there are are very small and cannot be really considered as pothole to worry about for a car drive. Negligible or almost nothing.

9) Between Chennasamudram toll to Kanchipuram first exit after Thirputkuzhi, there are only 3 diversions. Of which 2nd one is almost done and may be opened anytime. 4th one is between Kanchipuram first exit and Kanchipuram Arch and the fifth one is the diversion in front of Kanchi Arch itself. Overall not a complaining section at all as the roads are good. Only thing is many places there are no lane markings. So people don't know where they drive and may be literally driving between 2 lane spaces.

The real pain starts post Kanchipuram, right from the diversion in front of Upashana hotel onwards.

10) Kanchipuram to Sriperumbudur - There are 6 diversion and all of them are bad. 5 till Sunguvarchatram and then one after SIPCOT.

11) Even without any diversion, the road alternates between old and new, where the old roads are really bad and new roads are really good.

12) The roads from Sriperumbudur to Kundrathur direction is bad with so many potholes and bumps. Need to drive carefully and slowly as people zig/zag very fast.

Overall, there are about 11 diversions between Chennasamduram to Sriperumbudur.

Sriperumbudur-Kanchipuram to Chennasamudram Toll plaza diversions

13) One solace is, in the opposite direction, the last 1 km just before joining Sriperumbudur highway, they finally laid the roads which was never done in the past. Its truly a medical miracle (those who know the joke will get what i meant, for others sorry - its a funny way of stating it)

14) Sriperumbudur to Kanchipuram - Its better to say, we will be driving heavily in diversions than the main road. There are 11 diversions of which 3 are small ones, not to bother much , but remaining ones are a pain. Thiruputkuzhi diversion is the biggest among all.

15) Kanchipuram to Chennasamudram - There are 3 diversions , but not very bad and manageable.

16) There is a diversion after Chennasamudram toll as well in both directions, but its not that bad or a pain. Just okay.

Attaching some snaps (sorry for some shake) of Bommasamudram railway crossing state (in night and day) and also the new Chittoor flyover above collectorate office.

-Ravi

Read BHPian comments for more insights and information.

This train is an excellent day service option for passengers bound to/fro Salem, Namakkal, Trichy and even Madurai.

BHPian vigsom recently shared this with other enthusiasts:

Introduction

The Vande Bharat Express has been reviewed a lot via these threads and many other user experiences.

1. Train18
2. Orange vs White Vande Bharat
3. Mysuru-Chennai Vande Bharat
4. Ahmedabad Mumbai Vande Bharat
5. Vande Bharat without banker locos

Since all about Vande Bharat Express trains has been covered via the above and many other threads, these posts are to highlight why the Madurai-Bengaluru Vande Bharat Express is a huge relief for many passengers and

1. showcase some sights enroute on board this train
2. highlight some points for improvement
3. help users of this train on what to expect on arrival at Bengaluru Cantt.

Why the Madurai - Bengaluru Vande Bharat Express is a relief for many passengers?

For long, the solitary daily train for passengers travelling from Bengaluru to Trichy was the Mysuru - Cuddalore Port Jn Express. This used to be an evening service, reaching Trichy in absolute wee hours. More than the timings, availability of tickets was a huge challenge, especially in AC classes. There was the Sriganganagar - Trichy weekly Humsafar Exp but getting to Banaswadi Station was a pain for many, especially elders. As alternatives, one would either have to drive down (6.5 hours ball park) or look from among the few bus operators (of which KSRTC operates services only in the night, Nuego being slow thanks to their long and unpredictable charging halt, and the only good operator Renganathan Travels operating an afternoon service). Many folks prefer trains over buses, and that is how a new train was badly needed

The Vande Bharat Express was introduced sometime in late 2024 and has proved a relief to many passengers on the Salem, Namakkal and Trichy sectors. However, relief for many comes with murmurs from another section, who crib about this train doing approx 100km extra because of the route via Trichy. Patronage has still not reached target levels and that is why the train still oeprates with just eight cars.

Likes

1. Trichy to Bengaluru Cantt., a 420km distance in under 6 hours in supreme comfort
2. Extremely neat set up with on-board catering
3. Some pleasing sights enroute, especially Trichy-Karur and Salem - Tirupattur
4. For those boarding this train at Bengaluru and who have opted for food, I think a meal is served immediately after departure, and for passengers headed to Madurai, dinner is also served after Tiruchirapalli

What needs improvement

1. On-board catering, especially beverages, snacks are all sugar loaded; I did see that there were "Diabetic" options when opting for food while booking, but not sure of how diabetic friendly these are
2. Lobby in each coach is littered with crates, packs, garbage bags - there is enough space to manage these well, but old habits die hard!
3. Newspapers and a bottle of water are costs billed to a passenger even if the No Food option is selected; however, only 500ml of water is given - small money but calling this out
4. Difficult experience on arriving at Bengaluru Cantonment (not related to the train per se)

BHPian vigsom recently shared this with other enthusiasts:

The ride in pictures

Super clean Tiruchirapalli Jn. Just one sore point - multi-colour (red, pink and purple) coach indicators. I wish a bright unicolor (white or light green) had been chosen

Expansion bellow on the water line - good engineering

Beautiful green between Trichy and Karur

Platform at Namakkal - being spruced up

A new convenience in Vande Bharat Expresses - the sensor (the strip kind of thing) overhead detects someone standing and the door opens

A sight for everyone to see - Vande Bharat Express was stopped at a station until an EMU rolled in; experienced this again on another journey on the same train from Bengaluru to Trichy when Vande Bharat Express stopped and gave way to another express train

https://youtube.com/shorts/veEIwtswTK8

Continue readig BHPian vigsom's review for more insights and information.

Mekedatu Sangama is the place where two Rivers meet - The mighty Kaveri and Arkavathi.

BHPian mrpotato recently shared this with other enthusiasts:

A sedan friendly morning drive

I was looking for a drive which I could undertake with confidence in a Sedan. I was going through google street maps turn by turn to figure out which destination to choose next. Eventually I landed on a thread from Dr.AD. He had visited Mekedetu Sangama view point and posted some amazing pics of the drive. I wanted to do the same since its bhp-tested now. So that's how this drive happened.

The route was fairly simple. From South Bengaluru where I stay, I just had to get on to Nice road and take the Kanakapura Exit and head straight to Kanakapura. Continue on the Kanakpura road until you reach the Sangama Kaveri Wildlife Sanctuary Check post. The View point is just few kilometres from this check post.

We started off the drive sharply by 7 am. I wanted to go out while the weather was still cloudy and the sun nightly tucked behind the clouds. I took the Bannerghatta entry to the Nice road. The road as always was really good. The only downside being the tyre noise from the cement laden road. Its annoying after a point. I could not enjoy the Nice road much since I had to take the Kanakapura exit in just a little more than 4 kms. I had not been on the Kanakapura road for a good 6 years so I was a little skeptical but boy, was this road awesome for a sedan. Nice wide roads, with proper markings, it was a joy to drive the F30. I did not push the car much but I did manage to do some quick overtakes which I loved.

We reached the Sangama Kaveri Wildlife checkpost at about 9 am. The checkpost was quiet with just one caretaker and no vehicles in front of us. You need to enter your vehicle details there. Then came the most exciting part of the trip. The TWISTIES. Good tarmac with nearly no potholes on the way coupled with the forest canopy felt really nice to look at. The thought of how green this place would be during monsoon kept running through my mind. The F30 handled the twisites quite well we headed straight to the Mekadetu River stop. The tarmac ends right next to the water body beyond which its just land. The place has a really big parking space on the right but a word of caution - The Monkeys. I saw one Monkey jump from the top of a Scorpio onto a Punto the moment I entered the parking space. I parked in a place which had no trees above to avoid Monkeys. The caretaker there asked for another 50 to shoo away the monkeys from destroying the car. The moment I got out of the car, the caretaker was nowhere to be seen. I think it was a scam.

Mekedatu Sangama is the place where two Rivers meet - The mighty Kaveri and Arkavathi. The view from the shore was good with the sun having risen above the water and the reflection shimmering on top.

I so wished to remove my shoes and jump in but having turned 30 recently I already felt conscious and decided against it but mostly, it was because I did not want to get the car dirty. One could hear the feeble sounds of a waterfall coming from a distance. Me and my wife stood there for a while taking in the view, the sounds, the sun, the water, the trees. We clicked some pics on the return journey. Closing this out with some edits I made to the pics. Thanks for reading

Read BHPian comments for more insights and information.

Birds were in plenty as well, though my rather old Canon couldn't help much with too great pics and thanks to the mist, light was tricky too.

BHPian DrVjy recently shared this with other enthusiasts:

Wayanad.

A place for you if you're living in Bengaluru, in your early 60's, looking for a few days of routine Ayurvedic treatment, and can't let go of your passion for a long drive. Last Feb, I'd been to another treatment center, Jeeva Ayurvedic (see my post) and for a change, decided this time to try out Chyavana Ayurvedic, a bit further south.

From my very first WhatsApp enquiry, Dr. Anu Viswanath, who manages Chyavana Ayurvedic, was quite helpful and worked out a 5 days treatment plan for my neck and lower back issues. Here's the center's location. GM did a good job all the way without big shocks or surprises.

I started from home around 0610 h on 21 Jan. As always, my breakfast stop was Kadamba Veg, just before start of the NH 275 expressway to Mysore. After the breezy drive with my dashcam beeping near the 100 mph limit, Just after exiting Mysore, tanked up at Shell on the NH 766. Got a complimentary hot coffee for filling V Power petrol! At around 127+/ l, it's slightly cheaper here than in Bengaluru (129+/l).

The last pit stop was for an awesome, though not too heavy lunch at Mysore Veg Cafe in Sultan Bathery on Regency Road seen in the map above (M764+QMM Mysore Veg Cafe, Sultan Bathery, Kerala 673592), a few metres off NH 766. I strongly recommend this place for pure veg, for their good service and food quality as well as quite ample parking.

From Sultan Bathery to Chyavana Ayurvedic, the final leg of about 31 km was a test for my steering skills on sharp turns, blind corners and such. Though on narrow roads, this drive is still not too much of a challenge thanks to Wayanad's much sparser vehicle population, nowhere like that of Bengaluru. Dr. Anu guided me once I reached the center.

Chyavana Ayurvedic is a lovely nature- rich retreat. Amazing fruiting trees were all around. Here's my car under a fig tree.

Arecanut and pepper were around as well.

My room had a balcony that opened out to their coffee plantation. Peacocks would often call nearby, though shy to show up for a pic. But the best part was the misty views every morning like these.

Sunrise and mist are great in combination!

Birds were in plenty as well, though my rather old Canon couldn't help much with too great pics and thanks to the mist, light was tricky too. Got a few shots here that seem fair enough, from my balcony. (Pigeon, Bulbul, Coucal, Barbet in order).

Food was just awesome on all days, of course conforming to a pure veg and non- dairy menu. I'm now quite used to the boiled rice of Kerala, being a regular traveler there.

Like in my earlier trip of Feb 2024, this time too I did a trip to Tirunelly Maha Vishnu temple on 24 Jan. The temple is 45 km from Chyavana Ayurvedic. Road was in good shape for 95- 97% of the drive with about 200 - 300 m of highly broken stretches. Here's a link to one of my dashcam videos on the good stretches in my return drive from the temple:

https://drive.google.com/file/d/144h...w?usp=drivesdk

I'd start my day with a run and Wayanad is just awesome for this. Imagine starting your daily run/ walk on a misty stretch like this.

..leading to a bridge across the Kabini river about 1 km away.

But a 2 km walk isn't good enough for me! I do nearly 9 to 10 km run/ walk cumulatively in Bengaluru, so I explored the surroundings and settled on a 4 km circuit (in yellow) that took me over a large bridge (the Madakannu Vaddekara bridge in the map). Couldn't go for anything longer due to the treatment's logistics.

The circuit route was a delight, with greenery and banana plantations all around like these..

Randomly spotted this beautiful flower on the route. According to Wikipedia, this flower is called the ‘Lesser bird of paradise’ after the bird it resembles.

And finally on 27 Jan, after that awesome 5D/ 6N, it was time for the not so inspiring return to civilization of the urban kind! I took the wider route on my return drive via Kalpetta, which you see in the topmost map in lighter blue, just below the deep blue one.

PoV: Wayanad rejuvenation is like no other!

Read BHPian comments for more insights and information.

This will avoid the entire Hosur-Krishnagiri-Ambur mess as well as the Chitoor-Ranipet mess.

BHPian ampere recently shared this with other enthusiasts:

Another way I realized the KA part of the Bangalore-Chennai expressway can be used (if that opens early).

Drive till Sundarapalaya exit on the expressway. This is 10 km before V Kota. Drive to V Kota and there on to Gudiyatam. From here one can get on the Vellore 6-lane at Pallikonda and continue. This will avoid the entire Hosur-Krishnagiri-Ambur mess as well as the Chitoor-Ranipet mess.

This also is a great way for people to drive to Katpadi (and academic places like VIT). They just have to go past Gudiyatam and enter Katpadi. Gudiyatam is getting a bypass on NH75 which well help bypass the town as well.

Only Katpadi bypass is an open question. I do see a clear connecting road coming up close to VIT connecting to Vellore-Kanchi 6-lane past Walaja toll.

Read BHPian comments for more insights and information.

Avoid night drives/post dark travels either way between Chittoor to Madras stretch in both directions.

BHPian ravib recently shared this with other enthusiasts:

I travelled from Madras to Bangalore via Thiruvallur-Thiruttani-RK Pet-Sholingur-Ponnai-Chittoor-Bangalore on Jan 1st 2025. Many Thanks to @SRVM for his guidance always.

My main idea was to avoid regular Sriperumbudur-Kanchipuram-Chennasamudram road, for 3 main reasons

1. So many BHPians reported atrocious road conditions in this stretch damaging tyres and vehicles
2. Volume of traffic expected on a holiday
3. Explore newer option to see how it works in terms of time and road conditions.

My last trip post Deepavali, i tried and explored Ranipet-Ponnai-Chittoor route, to avoid Bommasamudram railway crossing work , so am familiar about road conditions via Ponnai Route which was good. What i wanted to explore this time is about the timing,

From a distance KMs perspective , Thiruvallur-Thiruttani-Sholingur-Ponnai route is negligible as it is just less than 10 kms more.
However, the driving time wise, it is definitely 30 minutes to 1 hour more due to narrow roads, and we have to get in and out of these towns. To top up, i travelled on Jan 1st and there were multiple villages which were celebrating new year in village temples and churches, particularly in Tiruttani, Sholingur, and Karimalai Murugan temple areas. Only savior was being a holiday on Jan 1st, passing through Chittoor town was pretty quick as there was no traffic.

Started at sharp 12 noon from Pallavaram on Jan 1st and it took solid 45 minutes to reach ThirumazhaiIsai junction to take right towards Thiruvallur.
And then due to scattered traffic all the way and huge traffic pile up in Thiruvallur town, mainly at PS4 restaurants due to proper lunch time, and a slow drive , reduced average KMPH coverage and overall it took me about 4:15 minutes to get out of Chittoor town, which is about 45 minutes more than Kanchipuram-Ranipet route normally from Pallavaram.

May be i can assume, it would have been same time on Jan 1st in Kanchipuram route , given bad roads and more traffic, just to make myself feel better

Downside of this route is post Thiruvallur, till Chittoor/Bangarupalayam Nandi Food plaza, there are no good food/rest room stop overs. So have to plan accordingly.

Post Mahasamudram Toll Plaza, continued to drive till Krishna grand after Nangli Toll and took a break for 30 mts and then continued the journey and reached Bangalore around 8 pm. So overall it was almost 8 hours including a 30 minutes break !

In current state, due to bad roads and diversions

• Bangalore-Krishnagiri-Chennasamudram-Madras is 80% pain,
• Bangalore-Chittoor-Ranipet-Chennasamudram-Madras is 40% pain.

The alternate with good roads but narrow and slow is via Chittoor-Ponnai-Sholingur-Tiruttani-Thiruvallur route or via Chittoor-Pallipat-Nagari-Tiruttani-Thiruvallur route.

In net effect, we have to choose which one to take till BCE comes up or atleast the Chennasamudram to Sriperumbudur is patched up !

Recommendation:

• If you are okay to risk the vehicle wheel alignment and balancing and driving in day time, continue to take Chennasamudram-Kanchipuram-Sriperumbudur route.
• If you have a low GC sedan, ready to spend another 30 mts to 45 minutes and not in urge to drive at high speeds, go with Chittoor-Ponnai route.
• Avoid night drives/post dark travels either way between Chittoor to Madras stretch in both directions !

Here is the google maps link i took between Thirumazhaisai to Mahasamudram Toll. Thanks to srvm again!

Read BHPian comments for more insights and information.

For most of us it was the first experience to drive a vehicle on an off-road track.

BHPian thirugata recently shared this with other enthusiasts:

Off late it has become a regular affair for us local Team - BHP members to meet here in and around Mangalore. This is the 3rd such meet that has happened in last 6 months or so.

Wait, but this meet was nothing like before. This was different, very different.
No it was very very different.

Now if you are wondering what this excitement is all about if the meets have been that regular, this time we were going to try our hand driving a jeep on a purpose built off-roading track.

Before we get into the details of how it unfolded first thing first.

This event was a brainchild of Akhil scorpion1558 who built this track for us, risked giving us newbies his jeep to learn the skills of off-roading and guided us on how it should be done.

So a big thanks to him and Digvijay @bdn317 for lending helping hand to him in this process.

Director of the day.

If Akhil was the director of the day, his jeep was the hero of the day. It did everything almost on its own and made us rookies who were holding the steering look like pros.

It is a 1988 Mahindra CJ640 XDP*4x4. Has a peugeot aluminium head engine, solid axles on leafs front and back, a 4 speed transmission with a low ratio gear box.
Mods include buckshot mudder tires, metal snorkel, 6 ton winch, raised exhaust, a roll bar, power steering and*booster*brakes.

It was used in Akhil's saw mill to pull logs in the past and it is the same mill where this track was built for us.

A couple of months ago during one of our regular banters on a social media platform Akhil asked if any of us would be interested in testing our off-roading skills and that idea caught traction and Akhil started building the track for the day. Finally it was decided that we would be meeting on 12/01/2025 and rest of the plan for food and beverages were finalized.

I am sure few didn't sleep much the previous night because of the excitement and when we met at the track in the morning we were all like kids in the candy shop.

The gang..

Front row left to right : Kiran (thirugata), Arshad (arshad YR), Digvijay (bdn317), Chinmay ( nityaya), Adithya ( a_bharadwaj), Gagandeep (gagan_DB), Akhil (scorpiondicor), Alston's friend, Alston (alstonlobo), Rajesh (carfreak), Prasanna (prasanna_indaje), Anand (dockap), Chethan (gischathan), Akhil's friend, Sundeep (deep blue).

Back row left to right: Pravin (PraVINRai), Johnson (johny-desperado), Srinidhi (SRISRI_90), Samarth (samaspire).

Missing in the photo : Vijeth (emvi)

Our cars

Guys who were leaving from Mangalore assembled outside the city and proceeded towards BC Road. Guys who were coming from Manipal and Udupi had started earlier.
All of us met Akhil at BC Road and then we drove towards the mill. By then few of the local guys who lives in Puttur and around also had come.
Chetan was coming from Karkala and even he joined us.

This guy was not impressed at all that we were making all the noise on a Sunday morning

After a brief introduction and greetings, we assembled together and Akhil shared some instructions about do's and dont's of off roading.

Then Akhil drove the jeep on the track to give us the demo of how it should be done. After this all of us had drive around the track one at a time.

Some of them also drove their own vehicle on the track to test the capabilities of their ride.

For most of us it was the first experience to drive a vehicle on an off-road track. It was fun and the memories of this experience will remain with me for a long time.

Now I will let the photos do the talking.

Srinidhi was the first one to drive the track. He also showed us how to move the log using the jeep.

Alston's Bolero testing waters

Johnson who had prior experience of Off-roading drove his Major on the track

Digvijay showed us his SWB classic can do the track even though it was 2WD.

Alston's Bolero got into a bit of sticky situation and crane was pressed into action for recovery

Akhil's safari didn't want to let go the chance to show what it is capable of.

And thus, we ended the day.

Read BHPian comments for more insights and information.

I have been reading justified comments on both threads on the terrible experience of driving Bangalore-Chennai. But it isn't as bad as what we have been facing for the last 3 years.

BHPian Secretariat recently shared this with other enthusiasts:

Did Bangalore-Chennai-Bangalore twice in the last two weeks.

The Bommasamudram railway crossing was open to traffic both ways all four times. The blocks on the road at various points have been shifted around to let even trucks ply through. About 100 metres, at the crossing of the railway track, is in terrible condition, but I didn't have to tackle the village road. In any case its awfulness is similar to the monstrous potholes for about a km after the turnoff to Katpadi if we were to take that route as a way of avoiding the railway crossing. Not sure if the "opening" of the railway crossing is because of the holidays, but I crossed it smoothly all four times. There is a long way to go however before the bridge over the railway track is done - not likely in the near future.

In the Chennai - Bangalore direction, you are supposed to take the overbridge at the Chittoor bypass, but on the opposite side of the carraigeway. But right at that point there is a sign directing you to go on the overbridge if you are proceeding into Chittoor and take the side road if you want to continue to Bangarupalayam. I went down the side road adjacent to the bridge as per the direction, only to find myself with no way to proceed but into Chittoor town !! The policeman directed me to go back all the way and take the overbridge. There were a number of vehicles who made the same mistake as I. So when coming from the Chennai side go up the overbridge - there is no other way to continue on the highway. In the Bangalore-Chennai direction, there is no bridge (and no confusion !)

I have been reading justified comments on both threads on the terrible experience of driving Bangalore-Chennai. But it isn't as bad as what we have been facing for the last 3 years. The Chennasamudram-Sriperumpudur section is definitely much better than the low point of 2022. There are still 14 diversions, including the infamous Saint Gobain diversions (the company's brand name is forever ruined !!). But except for two diversions, the side roads have survived the monsoon rains pretty well. Yes, there are potholes, but I didn't find any craters . So no need to explore sideroutes through Walajabad - straightforward to Sriperumpudur and then the usual choices to go to South Chennai.

What has deteriorated are the 9 diversions between Bangalore and Ranipet which has meant that there is almost no stress free section to drive on. The road through Ranipet has also developed a number of potholes (none huge) making the stretch a rattler. This has ensured that the pain level of the drive has remained the same from yester years.

Side note to EV drivers - Unless you own a luxury EV, one charging stop is inevitable if you aren't hypermiling. I am finding a two stop strategy better than the one stop one. The mid point options for a one stop are really Nandi Plaza at Bangarupalayam and Electrik Mobility at Tirupati bypass. Electrik Mobility is fine for charging, but there is no nice food joint nearby. Nandi Plaza would have been perfect but the Neugo buses are commandeering two of the four chargers and there is always a wait time for the other two (EVs are surely increasing in numbers). So two quick stops (just for topup while a refreshment is being had), at one third and two third distances is my current preference.

Read BHPian comments for more insights and information.

Vehicles are not allowed to ply beyond 9:00 PM. You’ll be stopped at either the Bannari check post or the Pulinjur check post on the Karnataka side.

BHPian buzzy_boy recently shared this with other enthusiasts

I travel on this route every week between Coimbatore and Hasanur.

Here are a few points to note about the traffic:

1. Night restrictions: Vehicles are not allowed to ply beyond 9:00 PM. You’ll be stopped at either the Bannari check post or the Pulinjur check post on the Karnataka side.

2. Commercial vehicles: These are allowed only until 6:00 PM. So, truck traffic is heaviest between 6 AM–8 AM and 5 PM–8 PM.

3. Slow-moving trucks: Truck traffic is extremely slow (~20 KMPH), leading to long queues of vehicles stuck behind them

4. Overtaking risks: Be cautious when you spot a slow-moving vehicle; impatient drivers often overtake without regard for oncoming traffic.

5. Long vehicles: These often occupy the right side of the road for their left turns. Exercise extreme caution when approaching your right turns.

6. Blind bends: Bends 20 and 21 are very close to each other and are extremely blind. Heavy vehicles often drive on the opposite side of the road here. Approach with utmost caution.

7. Holiday traffic: Avoid this road during long holiday periods. After New Year’s, for instance, there was a ~2-hour jam in the ghat section.

8. Accidents and breakdowns: These can cause significant holdups in the ghat section. While less frequent now, they still occur occasionally. Plan your trip accordingly.

9. Wildlife activity: Drive cautiously as wildlife, such as deer or mongooses, may cross the road.

10. No stopping in the forest: The forest is no joke. Tourists often stop for selfies or other reasons—don’t. Do not stop anywhere outside the villages.

11. Food recommendation: Bhama is a must-try.

Driving on this route is no easy task—it is highly technical and risky. Prepare for all possible scenarios before setting off.

Read BHPian comments for more insights and information.